How to Crop A Screenshot on Mac

| Updated on February 13, 2024

There are a number of ways to crop a screenshot on Mac. For those of you who don’t know or are new Mac users, we will also be discussing the keys which are used for taking a screenshot on Mac and how you can crop it as well. 

In the Apple world, there aren’t many people who leave it once stepping in. However, the list goes on for new ones joining and becoming a part of it by being new Apple users. 

While some get familiar with the different commands and use of them in the Apple products, there are often times when they face issues with it as well. And one such query is “how to crop a screenshot on Mac?”

Screenshot Mac

And if you are a new Mac user who is wondering the same and looking for solutions, we have got you covered. While googling for the steps can be easy, understanding the keys can get slightly difficult. So in this article, we are going to discuss how you can crop a screenshot on a Mac and even take one using pretty simple steps. Now let’s jump right in! 

How to Take A Screenshot on Mac? 

In the case of mobile phones, it is pretty easy and common how you can take screenshots. However, when it comes to desktops or laptops, the case can get a little different. While it isn’t hard to take a screenshot on a desktop as there is no rocket science behind it, it gets complicated when you switch to a different type. 

For instance, you are a Windows user who only knows about the keys on Windows. So if you want to take screenshots of it, you will simply look for the Snippet Tool. But what if you have recently switched to Mac? Here is where it gets a little tricky. 

If you are a new Mac user who doesn’t know how to snip on Mac or doesn’t know what keys to use for it, it is really simple. All you have to do is press the combination of these keys: Shift + Command + 3.

But, this will only be the case if you want to take a screenshot of the whole screen. As in the case of a particular section or area, you will have a different command to use. Now we will be discussing other ways to snip on Mac. 

  • Shift + Command + 3: Capturing a screenshot of the entire screen.
  • Shift + Command + 4: Take a screenshot of a selected part of the screen.
  • Shift + Command + 4 + Space Bar: For screenshotting a Menu or a Window. 

So once you know what type of screenshot you want to take, just go ahead with pressing the keys of it as mentioned above. And now that you know how to take a screenshot on Mac, let’s discuss the ways how you can crop a screenshot on Mac.

How to Crop A Screenshot on Mac?

If you have taken a screenshot on your Mac but don’t want the entire image and want to crop some part of it, it can be done pretty easily. There are plenty of methods to snip on a Mac, from built-in methods to online free or paid alternatives. We will be discussing different ways of cropping a screenshot on a Mac below.  

By Cropping Tool

There is a simple and straightforward way to crop a screenshot on your Mac, and that is by using the inbuilt cropping tool. So if you don’t know about the process, we will explain it to you step by step.

  • After taking the screenshot (Shift + Command + 3), click on the thumbnail of it from the bottom right of the screen.
Click thumbnail
  • Now click on the pen-like Markup option for the toolbar to appear.
Markup
  • After that, you will be able to see the Markup toolbar. Click on the Crop icon as shown below. 
Click on the Crop icon
  • Now crop the screenshot however you wish to by using the edges. 
Crop the screenshot by using the edges
  • Click on Done to save the cropped screenshot. 
Done

Apart from this, you can also crop the image differently. Follow the steps to know how. 

  • After the screenshot is open, using the cursor, map out the selected portion from the screenshot that you want to keep.
circle
  • Once you are done, click on Tools and select Crop.
Click on Tools Crop
  • After that, click on File < Save
File save

And now, using any of the two methods above, your screenshot will get cropped with the saved changes successfully. 

Through Photos App

If you are more familiar with the Photos app by Apple and prefer to edit images with it, then the idea of using it to crop your screenshot isn’t half as bad. If you want to know the steps, read on. 

  • Right-click on the taken screenshot and tap on Open With
openwith
  • Then select Photos < Open.
Select Photos and hit Open

Notes

If this method doesn’t work with your Mac, you can also open the taken screenshot and tap on the share icon. Then click on Add to Photos. 

  • Your screenshot will get imported to the Photos app.
Screenshot imported to Photos
  • Now click on Edit from the top right.
Tap on Edit
  • After that, click on Crop from the top.
Click on Crop from the top
  • Then drag the edges and crop the screenshot using crop handles.
Adjust and crop the screenshot using crop handles
  • If you want to undo the changes, click on Revert to Original.
Tap on Revert to Original if you want to undo
  • Once you are done, click on Done, and the changes will be saved. 
Tap on Done

Using these steps, you will be able to crop your screenshot from the Photos app on your Mac. But if you wish to crop screenshots on your Mac using the Preview app, follow the steps given in the section below.

Via Preview 

There is more to the Preview app on MacBook other than editing an image or screenshot. You can view images in different formats, edit documents or PDFs, and have several makeup features as well. 

So you can use the Preview app as well for cropping a screenshot on Mac. To know how, follow the given steps:

  • Right-click on the screenshot and select Open With < Preview.
Preview
  • Now, the screenshot will open in the Preview app, click on the Markup icon.
Tap on the Markup icon

Notes

For Macs running Big Sur, the Markup option can be found as the pencil tip icon and for the rest of macOS versions, it is with the toolbox icon only. 

  • Now make the selection of the screenshot’s required part by dragging the cursor around and setting it to the desired size.
Crop the screenshot with the help of dots
  • Now click on Tools < Crop and the screenshot will get cropped successfully.
Tap on Tools and Select Crop

And that was about it for the steps of how you can crop a screenshot on Mac using the Preview app. If you prefer using online tools instead, follow the steps given in the next section. 

Using Online Tools

If you want to crop a screenshot on your Mac without using any third-party apps, there are some online tools available like ResizeImage, Picresize, IMG2Go, Cropp.me, etc. to crop a screenshot. 

So in this article, we are going to use IMG2Go as an example to help you understand how you can crop a screenshot on your Mac using online tools. For those of you who don’t know, IMG2Go is a free online tool that lets users edit or convert their images in different formats safely.

So now, let’s get started with the steps:

  • Open your browser and go to IMG2Go, select Crop Image.
crop
  • Now tap on Choose File.
file choose
  • Select and upload the file that you want to crop.
uploading
  • Once you are done, you will be able to see cropping options of different ratios. Select the one you want.
sizes
  • After that, tap on Apply, and the changes will be made.
custom apply
  • Now click on Save As and select the required format for saving the cropped screenshot.
save as and target png
  • Wait for some time to let the tool make final changes and then click on Download.
Tap on Download

So those were the steps for how you can crop your screenshot using online tools. If you don’t mind using third-party tools for cropping a screenshot, then read the following section.

Notes

The third-party tools used for any process can be unsafe and leave your device or data at risk. So if you want to use them, do so at your own risk, as we don’t recommend using them. 

Third-Party Tools

To crop screenshots on your Mac, you can also make use of third-party apps like Snagit, Skitch, etc. Apart from the in-built cropping tool of Mac, Skitch is a simple app using which you can crop, annotate and to some extent, edit your screenshots with its functions. So for cropping the image via the third-party tool Skitch, follow these steps: 

  • Go to your browser or App Store and download and install Skitch.
Get
  • Now click on the drop-down menu option next to Screen Snap and tap on Open an image or PDF.
Click on ‘Open an Image or PDF’
  • Then click on the Crop icon from the options on the left, and click on Apply
Click on Crop and after making changes, tap Apply
  • After that, select File < Export and then save your screenshot to the folder or location where you want to. 
Tap on File and then Export

Now your cropped screenshot will be saved on your Mac in the selected location. Using the above-mentioned methods, you will be able to crop a screenshot on Mac. It is not a rare thing to crop a screenshot, as there is often limited detail or information to it that we want to display or highlight. By cropping your screenshot, you can save on size and have a simple way of displaying the required information or message. 

FAQ

Can we record a selected part or section on Mac?

Yes, on a MacBook, you can capture a selected portion of the screen and even record it. For this, all you have to do is press the keys: Shift + Command + 5, and then choose the “Capture Selected Portion” or “Record Selected Portion” option.

Can we edit screenshots while cropping them?

Yes, you can do a Markup of screenshots and edit it along with various other options including crop. However, the options for that will be lesser compared to the ones given in the Photos.

Can we use the feature of Live Text on Mac?

You can use the Live Text feature in Preview to copy and use the text in the photo.


Janvi Panthri

Senior Writer, Editor


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